Dustin Demri-Burns (born 11 July 1978) is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for his work in '' Cardinal Burns'' (2012–2014) and '' Slow Horses'' (2022). He appeared in films as the roles of Danny Sinclair in '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'' (2013), Viktor in the action comedy film '' The Spy Who Dumped Me'' (2018), and Crazy Cedric in the comedy film '' Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans'' (2019). In television, he appeared in shows as Julian in '' Stath Lets Flats'', Will_5000 in '' Sick Note'', Simon in '' GameFace'', Daniel in '' Turn Up Charlie'', and

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

in '' The Great''.

Early life

Demri-Burns was born in

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, although ...

on 11 July 1978. He attended Elliott School, Putney,

Putney Heath Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 46 ...

, southwest London (1989–1996). He graduated from the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

with a degree in acting.

Career

Demri-Burns started his acting career when he played a minor character in the short film ''Nightswimming'' (2003). His film credits include '' The Spy Who Dumped Me'', '' Bridget Jones' Baby'', '' The Brothers Grimsby'', and '' Kill Your Friends''. He played the role of Danny Sinclair in the 2013 film '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'', featuring

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

, and has also played the role of Cedric in the 2019 film '' Horrible Histories: The Movie - Rotten Romans''. The same year, he also started in Abigail Blackmore's film '' Tales from the Lodge'', alongside

Kelly Wenham Kelly Wenham (born 28 November 1983) is an English actress, director, screenwriter and comedian. Life and career Wenham was born in Stockport. Her early career was spent in modelling, before answering a casting call for a bit part in '' Alwa ...

Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...

Laura Fraser Laura Fraser (born 24 July 1975) is a Scottish actress. She has played Door in the urban fantasy series ''Neverwhere'' (1996), Kate in the film '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001), Cat MacKenzie in the BBC Three drama series '' Lip Service'' (2010–20 ...

Sophie Thompson Sophie Thompson (born 20 January 1962) is a British actress. She has worked in film, television and theatre and she won the 1999 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the London revival of ''Into the Woods''. She has been nominated for ...

and

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of surreal humour. Ve ...

. Along with his friend Sebastian Cardinal, he created and produced the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

programme '' Cardinal Burns''. Demri-Burns has provided voices of characters in animation, such as the voice of Grumpy in '' Digby Dragon'' and as the UK/U.S. voice of Tread in ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment which ran from to in the United Kingdom through the CBBC strand and later CBeebies. The series centres on the adventures ...

''. In 2020, he played the role of

in season 1 of the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

television series '' The Great'', featuring

Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. Her works include both independent films and blockbusters, and her accolades include a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and ...

and Nicholas Hoult. He reprised his role as a recurring character in seasons 2 (2021) and 3 (2023) of the show.

Personal life

Demri-Burns is of French descent and currently resides in England with his wife and child.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video game

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Demri-Burns, Dustin 1978 births 21st-century English male actors Actors from Lancaster, Lancashire Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Comedians from Lancashire English male comedians English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors English male writers English people of French descent Living people Male actors from Lancashire